Page 24 - Wedding Essentials & Essential Groom Issue 7

History of The Wedding Ring
ANCIENT EGYPT
Ancient Egypt was the rst know cul- ture where people would exchange ‘rings of love’. These rings where made of woven reeds or hemp. As these materials would ware over time, the lovers would exchange many rings over time, the more durable and rare the material, the more love was expressed. This included rings made of leather and bone. The ring, a cir- cle, was seen as a powerful symbol to the Egyptians. The band with no end repre- sented eternal life and love, and the ring’s opening represented a gateway to worlds unknown.
Rings were highly regarded in the Egyptian culture, especially scarabs and signets.
THE GREEKS AND THE ROMANS
Signet rings, used as a personal signature, continued to be used by the Greeks and Romans. The signet ring inspired some of the earliest known engagement rings in Rome.
The Greeks gave rings to their lovers, which featured Eros the god of love or his cher- ubs. The Romans are believed to rst link these rings to marriage. One of the rst examples of the Roman wedding rings is known as a ‘fede’ ring, which depicts two hands clasping one another in love or agreement. Made from solid gold or carved in stone, these beautiful rings where the foundation style of modern rings we see today.
PERSONALISATION AND ENGRAVINGS
Over time, the Romans began adding a personal touch to the wedding rings, in the form of custom engravings of the couple themselves. This carried over to the Byz- antine Empire in the Middle Ages where most rings were carved, showing the faces or full bodies of the engaged couple. Once Christianity became the Empire’s of cial religion, the engravings of the couple was often depicted with Jesus or a cross be- tween them, blessing their marriage.
POSY RINGS
The ‘posy’ is a short verse, often from
a poem, inscribed on a ring. The ‘posy’ ring rst made its appearance in the 15th century and grew in popularity across the lands. In the beginning, the ‘posy’ ring had bold designs and were engraved with words on the outside of the rings. Over time, the design of the rings became more simplistic and the inscriptions became more personal. As a result, goldsmiths had to advance their techniques and learn to engrave on the inside of the rings to keep these messages private and close to the wearer.
‘Posy’ rings show us a shift from marriage often being an agreement between fami- lies for nancial arrangement, to marriag- es founded on love. Simplistic and full of meaning, the ‘posy’ ring is a style that has stood the test of time.
24 | Wedding Essentials